LIMERICK Civil Defence is reaching out to offer vital support to the suffering people of Ukraine by donating two fully equipped ambulances to provide medical support.
The two ambulances were recently decommissioned after the medical response service took delivery of two new purpose built ambulances in January.
This past Friday (July 19) members and volunteers transported the decommissioned ambulances to Dublin and presented them to the charitable foundation Gurtom UA.
The donation follows an appeal for ambulances and other medical equipment issued by the foundation earlier this year.
The ambulances have been with Limerick Civil Defence since 2008 and 2017 respectively. The replacement vehicles have been purpose built and delivered after many delays caused by global events, including the Covid 19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The new vehicles are B Class licensed ambulances, which eliminates the need for staff and volunteers to undergo advanced driver training to obtain a C1 licence.
The two donated vehicles will be given to paramedics in Ukraine for the evacuation of wounded soldiers and civilians in the war zone.
One of the vehicles will be transferred to ASAP Rescue Ukraine, the second will be transferred to National Guard of Ukraine for paramedics in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Limerick City and County Council is responsible for delivering the services of Limerick Civil Defence. Director General of the local authority, Dr Pat Daly, said the ambulances can begin providing medical assistance as soon as they arrive in Ukraine.
“As a council we are delighted to support this initiative. The two ambulances may have reached the end of their use for Limerick Civil Defence, but they have a full service history and are fully stocked with medical equipment, so they can be fully operational on arrival in Ukraine,” Dr Daly said.
Cecilia O’Flaherty, civil defence officer at Limerick City and County Council, added: “The two ambulances are equipped with stretchers, pillows, blankets, suction units, an ECG monitor, helmets, backboards, and we are looking through our stores for other items that we can include.”
“These ambulances have provided great service to the Limerick public and being able to donate them to Ukraine is really rewarding for the staff and volunteers.”
